Step Up With Me
by messi-soccergirl18-10
Summary: "I like to dance." They were the first words Annabeth Chase ever said to Percy Jackson. They also happened to be the four words that, inevitably, made Percy Jackson fall in love. (AU) In which Annabeth and Percy are partners in the biggest hip hop competition they can imagine. Will the chemistry stay onstage, or will there be more? (R&R!)
1. Chapter 1

"I like to dance." They were the first words Annabeth Chase ever said to Percy Jackson.

They also happened to be the four words that, inevitably, made Percy Jackson fall in love.

 **Chapter 1 (Annabeth):**

Annabeth rushed out of the locker room, now immune to the smell of sweat and muddy soccer cleats. It had been a rough practice- more than half of her teammates had needed a stop in the physical trainer's office, and at least 3 out of 4 of those teammates came out with ice taped to their calves, hamstrings, quads, etc. Annabeth, however, had been training for this sport and its obstacles since she was five. Twelve years later, and she was in tip top shape. All because of her determination.

Well. Not _just_ her determination, per say. It was a teeny-tiny bit more than _just_ determination. There was only one word to explain that teeny-tiny bit, really. That's just how small it was. And what was that word, you may ask? To answer, Annabeth would tell you in a hushed voice:

 **Dance.**

Actually, Annabeth wouldn't tell you. Don't take it personally, though. Annabeth wouldn't tell anyone. She was a little shy and protective about this secret of hers. It happened to be the one thing Annabeth Chase called her own. You see, the majority of Annabeth Chase's life happened to be dictated by everyone except Annabeth Chase. Her mother handled her academics, her father directed her college options, and her personal trainer handled her sports. It was for her own good, they all said. It was a little hard to believe sometimes, though. How could agreeing and listening to everyone else all the time be for her own good? Eventually, Annabeth got so frustrated with not knowing the answer to this one question in her life that she decided to take matters into her own hands. And that was when Annabeth Chase found music.

This new world of emotion, of power and beauty, captivated Annabeth. She had been twelve years old at the time, and in complete awe of the rhythmic lullabies and soulful sounds. However, music never quite satiated the thirst Annabeth had for proving herself. She could never completely express herself through music, although she wasn't all too bad at the singing lessons her parents easily bought her.

One day, the frustration was too much. She had been trying to pour herself into art, which _clearly_ wasn't working, seeing as her classy bowl of fruit had turned into an abstract mess of anger- reds, blacks, fiery oranges- they were all spread across the page in a beautiful, yet pointless, design. She rolled her eyes and set aside the paper, stashing it in her drawer for a time when its beauty might actually be appreciated. Exhausted with the pressure of finding something to relieve pressure, she flopped down in front of the TV. She had nothing better to do, she supposed. It was summer break, all her friends were somewhere nice with their families, and she had already practiced soccer and studied for the day. Her parents were at work, as usual, and the caretakers were busy doing their own tedious chores. So, really, sue her for watching some TV. She began to surf channels, flicking through, settling on some for a few minutes, before realizing she was bored again. She rarely watched TV, which soon became apparent when she threw down the remote in frustration because nothing good was on.

Realizing she still had nothing better to do, Annabeth sighed and picked up the remote, beginning to surf yet again. Eventually, she decided to stick with a music channel that was showing some fine arts festival in some small town near her hometown in California. The announcer was speaking some nonsense about all the wonderful sponsors he probably didn't even know existed until he read his script, so Annabeth used the spare time to run to the kitchen and grab some oreos and chips (So it was summer. Give her a break.) She sat down, opening the water bottle she'd also picked up and watching lazily as singers came on and off. She nodded in appreciation to some of the better artists, and cringed in sympathy when less... experienced artists had to perform. Then suddenly, the annoying host was back to talk about some new group that had been trying to make itself known in that town and the neighboring ones, as well. Annabeth didn't quite catch what the group was going to perform because of the crinkle of her chips bag, but she leaned forward and watched in interest as she saw them take their places onstage and let the lights dim. They knelt on one knee with their backs to the audience and she wondered curiously if it was some kind of alternative band introducing a new style.

Then the music began.

And from that point onwards, everything was a blur. Annabeth watched in awe as their bodies moved in perfect harmony with the music she had grown up loving. Their arms and legs seemed to be a part of the music rather than their bodies. The dancers moved in perfect sync, performing amazing stunts that made Annabeth's jaw drop in shock. She allowed herself to get absorbed in the music, mesmerized by the way that the dancers rolled and moved. It was amazing, really. A whole different experience. Annabeth had never really been one to watch much TV. Books and documentaries were more of her style. She had never really tried parties or dances, either. The reputation they had was too clashing with Annabeth's way of life. Soccer was about as wild as she got. But as she watched the dancers move onscreen, Annabeth knew that she could get wilder.

 _This_ , Annabeth was quick to figure out, was _no_ band.

 _This_ , Annabeth knew, was _magic._

And _this,_ Annabeth decided, was going to be _her life._

What Annabeth didn't plan for, however, was all that being true (Well. Until Percy Jackson came along).


	2. Chapter 2

Just cause I forgot this last chapter:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot.

 **Chapter 2 (Percy):**

Percy rolled out of bed, groaning as his feet slammed the floor. He glanced at the alarm clock, grimacing at the time: 5:30 AM. Grumbling about how unfortunate he was and how he should really get more credit for his dedication, he walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Now, Percy Jackson was not, by any means, a morning person. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He hated waking up early, especially when it was so early that even his mother wasn't up to make him blue pancakes. He was one of those children early on in life who broke alarm clocks weekly because they couldn't stand the idea of waking up. So what, you would ask, would make him get out of bed at 5:30 AM? And Percy would tell you- Dance.

Now, make no mistakes. Percy Jackson was a swimmer. There was no doubt about that. He held at least 5 national records for his age division and at least three times that many in his state, New York. However, the publicity he often got for swimming tended to clash with Percy's modest and humble way of life. Being printed on the cover of almost every swimming magazine at least once embarrassed him; swimming was always something he'd done to escape from the watching gaze of society, something he'd always done for himself. But soon, it started feeling less and less like something of his own, and more of something for the media. That was when Percy decided that he had to find something for himself- something that no press or magazine would know about until he wanted them to. Swim meets he couldn't really help; competing was his life, and swimming would feel empty without competitions. It didn't exactly help that his dad, Poseidon, was the 10-time gold medalist for multiple events in the Olympics.

No. He needed to find something that he could lose himself in- something that he wouldn't rise to the top for because of his dad. Percy had almost never had to work his way to the top in sports. The only time he'd felt the victory of achieving something on his own was when he was in school and had worked extremely hard to please his mom. And man, was _that_ the best feeling ever. Percy wanted to feel that again. So Percy told the one person he trusted most, his mother, that the publicity and unfair advantages he had were bothering him. She listened understandingly, and told Percy that she and his father would do whatever it took for Percy to feel comfortable and happy about his life again.

And that was how they ended up in San Francisco.

It had been quite surprising, actually. Percy and his mother had come home one day, exhausted after a swim meet, and decided to order some pizza and watch TV. His father had been at some press conference in Greece for the past couple days and they had been enjoying some quality mother-son time. Lazily switching channels, they had settled on listening to and watching some music, when a dance group came on. Percy's mother had been in the kitchen grabbing some soda for the two when Percy had called her excitedly, demanding her to "come look _right now._ " She, being the wonderful mother she was, had complied and rushed into the living room. The sight that awaited her had brought a knowing smile to her face. Her son was leaning forward in his seat on the couch, enraptured by dancers moving on the screen.

Percy had never had any time to watch much TV or see many shows. He had friends, but didn't get to participate in the social events because of all his swim practices and tutoring to help with his dyslexia and ADHD. But it only took Sally Jackson one glance to figure out that this wasn't Percy's fascination with TV at all. This was Percy's fascination with what was onscreen. And _that_ was dance. His eyes followed the dancers' every movement, eyes lighting up in pure happiness when an especially difficult move was performed. His eyes shone with wonder and happiness when he turned to look at his mother after the act was complete. A moment of understanding passed in which his mother smiled at him and nodded while Percy grinned, looking happier than she had seen him in a very long time. He had reached to hug her, rushing to his room to flip open his laptop and look up more dance videos. Captivated by the way their bodies seemed to flow, Percy tried to imitate their movements, calling up his mom to watch him miserably fail. They had laughed, but only because they both knew that Percy wouldn't look like this for long. Both of them knew that when Percy Jackson set his mind to something, he would achieve it. He couldn't hire a teacher, because he was too famous for that; word would get out that Percy Jackson was trying to learn dance. No, it was all up to him.

When Percy told his mother that the fame he possessed could interfere with his newfound passion, she had, like always, put his feelings first and worked out a plan with his father. His father would stay behind and handle all the family affairs, dealing with media and press, while Percy and his mother moved to San Francisco, as far away from New York as possible, to try to begin a life in which swimming wasn't the only thing in his world.

And that was why Percy Jackson was rolling out of bed at 5:30 AM despite his being the last person he would consider to be a morning person. It was because of his dedication to the wonderful world of dance. He also owed his mother, who had given up so much just to let him follow his dreams, and he was determined to prove to her that it would be worth it, no matter how much she assured him that it already was.

And from there on, dance was Percy Jackson's life.

(Well, until Annabeth Chase came along.)

 **Hey guys! :) It's me again. Thanks so much for all the support you guys gave the last chapter; it really made a lot of my days. Not gonna lie, I'm a very random updater, which is super hypocritical of me, actually, since I as a reader get annoyed when people don't update, but what can I say? I understand their pain. Just kidding, it's a pleasure to update, and an even bigger pleasure to get reviews and awesome feedback. Let me know if you guys have any constructive criticism.**


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